Financial assistance

Hi everyone and thank you for visiting my GoFundMe page for my good friends Derek and Jennifer Veale and their 6 kids.

Up until 2016 Derek had been a successful full time musician and singer for several years, and had played with some of the top artists in the irish music industry. Unfortunately in late 2016 Derek was told by doctors that he would have to take a break from the road due to problems with his throat which made singing painful and difficult. For the following year Derek took the medical advice and cancelled all the work he had taken as a solo artist. Unfortunately in early 2018 Derek developed a viral infection in the brain which left him with severe facial paralysis and weakness on one side of his body. In the weeks and months that followed Derek developed constant pain and stiffness throughout the muscles in his body. This got progressively worse and he was given multiple different medications to try and give some relief.

Eventually in 2022, Derek was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue, Chronic insomnia and also suffers from severe depression and anxiety. Derek's movement is now limited due to constant leg and back pain and balance problems, and he uses a walking stick for short distances and a wheelchair at all other times.

As you can imagine, this has impacted the families finances terribly and they find it almost impossible to survive on their disability allowance week to week. Also the loss of Derek's career has meant that any hopes Derek and Jenny had of someday owning their own home has become almost a dream never meant to happen. They have been living in rented accommodation for the last 18 years and with rising rent and very little help from local authorities this situation is becoming more difficult by the day. The family are on the council housing list but thus far nothing has come up.

We started this page to ask the public for any help no matter how small, to assist the family in their time of need. As explained earlier, Their finding it very tough to look after things like maintaining the car and paying the bills.

None of us know when bad health can strike and turn your world upside down in an instant. We'd like to thank you all in advance. Kindest Regards